Public release date: 5-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Jenny Eriksen Leary jenny.eriksen@bmc.org 617-638-6841 Boston University Medical Center (Boston) Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) investigators have led the first genome-wide evaluation of genetic variants associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). The study, which is published online in PLOS ONE, points to the involvement of specific genes and alterations in their expression as influencing the risk for developing PD. Jeanne Latourelle, DSc, assistant professor of neurology at BUSM, served as the study's lead author and Richard H. Myers, PhD, professor of neurology at BUSM, served as the study's principal investigator and senior author. A recent paper by the PD Genome Wide Association Study Consortium (PDGC) confirmed that an increased risk for PD was seen in individuals with genetic variants in or near the genes SNCA, MAPT, GAK/DGKQ, HLA and RIT2, but the mechanism behind the increased risk was not determined. "One possible effect of the variants would be to change the manner in which a gene is expressed in the brains, leading to increased risk of PD," said Latourelle. To investigate the theory, the researchers examined the relationship between PD-associated genetic variants and levels of gene expression in brain … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cytori Therapeutics (CYTX) announced that three oral presentations related to its cell therapy are being presented today at the 10th annual International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Sciences meeting. The findings provide insights into the mechanisms-of-action for Cytoris cell therapy. One study identified high levels of micro-RNA (miRNA) markers in human tissue thought to play a role in the repair of tissue injury resulting from ischemia, or lack of blood flow. Two additional characterization and comparative analysis studies on human tissue reaffirmed cellular characteristics of Cytoris cell therapy and distinguished the safety, viability and cell make-up as compared to cell outputs derived from alternate approaches. Results from all three studies have important implications for how the cells repair injured tissue and on the safety and viability of cell-based treatments derived from adipose tissue, said John Fraser, Ph.D., Chief Scientist of Cytori Therapeutics. Mechanisms identified in our miRNA analysis are consistent with our prior clinical and preclinical data, which suggest these mechanisms include angiogenesis, immune-modulation, and remodeling and wound repair. The miRNA study provides baseline data, which we can apply to our U.S. ATHENA clinical trial in refractory heart failure patients and other activities including our recently announced … Continue reading →

Hopes of a cure for infertility in humans were raised Friday after Japanese stem cell researchers announced they had created viable eggs using normal cells from adult mice. The breakthrough raises the possibility that women who are unable to produce eggs naturally could have them created in a test tube from their own cells and then planted back into their body. A team at Kyoto University harvested stem cells from mice and altered a number of genes to create cells very similar to the primordial germ cells that generate sperm in men and oocytes -- or eggs -- in women. They then nurtured these with cells that would become ovaries and transplanted the mixture into living mice, where the cells matured into fully-grown oocytes. They extracted the matured oocytes, fertilised them in vitro -- in a test tube -- and implanted them into surrogate mother mice. The resulting mice pups were born healthy and were even able to reproduce once they matured. Writing in the US journal Science, which published the findings, research leader professor Michinori Saito said the work provided a promising basis for hope in reproductive medicine. "Our system serves as a robust foundation to investigate and further … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 3 (HealthDay News) -- People who undergo the transplantation of stem cells taken from bone marrow, circulating blood or umbilical cord blood are more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol, a new study contends. Researchers from the American Society of Hematology noted that patients who were treated with chemotherapy or radiation before such a transplant -- called a "hematopoietic cell transplant," or HCT -- had a significantly higher risk for heart disease later in life. "While we know that heart disease is a real concern for long-term HCT survivors, small sample sizes and a lack of long-term follow-up in previous studies have only allowed us to look at a small piece of the puzzle of how this chronic condition develops in these patients," the study's first author, Dr. Saro Armenian, medical director of the Pediatric Survivorship Clinic in the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program at City of Hope in Duarte, Calif., said in a society news release. "Our study sought to better determine the specific factors before and after transplant that can lead to heart disease in a large group of transplant recipients," Armenian explained. In conducting the … Continue reading →